Iggy?

Well now, this is even more interesting. Although Rae figures have denied it (and why wouldn't they?) the current hot rumor is that Count Ignatieff will be crowned, Bob Rae will step aside for a courtier position, and who knows what happens to Stephane.

I have serious, serious reservations about the man, particularly his foreign policy. I think his torture-as-astrology justification for "coercive interrogation" is naive, and his attitude towards Iraq critics insulting. His gaffe on Lebanon said more than he admits, and I can understand why Ukrainians did their level best to keep him from getting his seat in the first place.

But on the worst issue—his insistence that the party should be dragged to the right—he would now find himself in an intensely difficult situation. After all, the Liberals would be part of a left coalition, which means he couldn't drag the party to the right lest he face the whole thing falling apart on his watch. If anything, he'd have to swallow his pride and watch as the locus of power shifted to the left. And as his foreign policy would be subject to a veto by Social Democrats, of all things, he would be forced to stifle any and every tendency towards torture apologias, foreign adventurism, and neoliberal excess. He'd also need to squelch that imperious attitude, as it wouldn't wear well with the coalition partners.

In short, he'd have to give up pretty much everything that I find objectionable about the man, as he grins and bears the weight of a coalition that really has nothing to do with the positions of Iggy-the-author and Iggy-the-campaigner.

I could work with that.

Edit: On the other hand, I'm becoming more and more convinced that he's holding the entire deal hostage because he can't countenance the idea of Dion becoming PM. Which makes sense, considering his faction's behavior, but I can't imagine anybody would give a tinker's damn for his chances were he the guy that kept the Liberals away from forming a government out of his own pique, and left them to the tender mercies of "kick 'em while they're down" Harper.